Police officials say they have received information about gangsters like Ravi and Hemant Pujari forging new partnerships to corner income from city's commercial activity
Police officials say they have received information about gangsters like Ravi and Hemant Pujari forging new partnerships to corner income from city's commercial activity
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THE recent killings orchestrated by underworld gangsters could just be the tip of the iceberg.
Police and underworld sources say the city's dark underbelly is in the midst of a resurgence fuelled by high real estate prices and increased construction and redevelopment activity taking place in various areas.
"There was a lull in underworld activity last year. There was less cash going around, resulting in foot soldiers and middle-level organisers not being hired.
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Now, with commercial activity increasing phenomenally in the city, gangsters want to make a killing while the boom lasts.
The recent murders were planned to spread terror among builders and businessmen and the city could witness more of these in the coming days," said a senior crime branch official.
A shake-up is also taking place in the underworld with gangsters making new alliances to make it to the top and corner the lion's share of income from different activities (see box).
One of the key new alignments is believed to be between fugitive gangsters Ravi Pujari and Kumar Pillai.
Pujari, who was believed to be a toothless tiger, catapulted himself into the upper echelons of the underworld by orchestrating three killings recently.
Pillai, an engineer-turned-gangster, is suspected to be holed up in South-East Asia. He was a key associate of slain gangster Amar Naik and his younger brother, Ashwin.
The other realignment is believed to be between Hemant Pujari named in the recent murder of businessman Angara Pujari and Dawood Ibrahim's second-in-command Chhota Shakeel.
Police records indicate that while members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang protected and shared business interests in south Mumbai and the western suburbs, rival Chhota Rajan dominated the north-eastern suburbs in the city and gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli held sway over Central Mumbai. "All that may change now," added the officer.
Joint Commissioner of Police and Crime Branch chief Himanshu Roy confirmed that they had received information on some specific realignments taking place in the underworld. "We are keeping a tab on that," he said.
The following are the activities from which underworld dons make the bulk of their money:
Areas of activity
Real Estate
There are more than 1,000 builders in the metropolis. Each project including slum redevelopment is estimated to be worth a few hundred crores.
Builders are known to pay a percentage of the returns from each project to the gangs as protection money.
Pirated DVDs
The 'master print' or video piracy business has always been seen as a very lucrative one by the underworld. The returns are very high and the chances of getting caught aren't. The pirated DVD business was being managed by Chhota Shakeel until recently and is now run by Dawood's younger brother, Anis.
Insiders said that there are about one lakh dealers of pirated DVDs across the country. On an average, each dealer buys about 500 DVDs of a newly released movie. By conservative estimates, the underworld makes a profit of Rs 30 per copy, translating to nearly Rs 500 crore per film.
Pornographic films
The underworld is also involved in dealing in pornographic films. The wholesale price is around Rs 110 per disc, which is sold for Rs 160 on Mumbai's footpaths.The master print is smuggled out to laboratories in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia, where it is duplicated on 8.1 GB discs, which are called 'silver'.
Bollywood
On an average, 150 new films are released every year. The budget for each ranges from Rs 15 crore to Rs 90 crore. A large number of Bollywood directors and producers rub shoulders with underworld gangsters and often pay protection money. Underworld financing has also been suspected.
Extortion
Underworld dons also extort money from businesses and from the octroi nakas, sand dredgers, pilfered diesel traders, cable operators etc
Cricket betting
Gangs have taken to cricket betting in the recent years, as the money riding on matches is huge. With stakes as high as Rs 2,000 crore riding on each match, the underworld has found the perfect killing.
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